Six Remarkable Months!

September 2, 2012

HAPPY SIX REMARKABLE MONTHS!! Standard Ovation has officially been open for six months! WHOOOT!! We have had a BLAST so far - and can't wait for many, many more!! Thanks to everyone who has supported us, to our clients who are booking our fabulous speakers, and to our absolutely amazing team of speakers!!

CHEERS!! xo
Standard Ovation
www.thestandardovation | 913.498.9772 | info@thestandardovation.com
Sarah Whitten | Charlotte Raybourn | Amy Crocker

Standard Ovation Speakers:
Dr. Gary Bradt
Kit Grant, CSP
Terry Hawkins, CSP
Michael Hoffman, CSP
Gregg Lederman
Sam Richter
Marilyn Sherman

Superstar SHOUT OUT - Miss Marilyn Sherman!

"Marilyn [Sherman] was an absolute pleasure to have speak for our conference!  At first, I wasn’t sure how she would relate to the industry of life insurance.  But that doubt didn’t reside very long.  She reached out to several of our agents prior to the conference to get a feel for how they used CMG and what their days look like.  Then once she arrived at the conference, she was spending her time either interacting with the agents during the breaks or ensuring she didn’t miss any of the presentations and sessions.  By the time it was her turn to speak, she knew the industry as well as anyone in the room!  It was amazing to watch her correlate the things that motivate people towards the daily lives of our agents.  You could see everyone in the audience almost mesmerized by her awareness of their challenges.  But what was really great was when she to watch them receive her challenges back to them.  They embraced her encouragement and motivation beyond my expectations.  Aside from seeing the audience transform, I was told by several attendees about how great she was.  Many of the them stated that they had never had anyone push them like she did.  One of the comments I received….“These speakers are always like…sell …sell…sell.  But they never seemed to help us push beyond the limits that we’ve set for ourselves.  Which are generally too low or haven’t evolved with the times.  She simply put…get’s it”.

With all this said, we felt that it was our privilege to have her speak.  She went above anyone’s expectations and created a real take away that people will remember. 

We would recommend Marilyn to anyone in any industry. 

Thank you again for making this possible."

- Brian, CMG Success Conference

Want to know more about Marilyn Sherman? Check out Marilyn's presentation topics, read additional testimonials, watch her video clips of her live on stage - or contact us for more information on how Marilyn can make your next event or conference similar to Brian's experience!

Sam Richter voted one of the 25 Influential Leaders in Sales!

Our very own Sam Richter was just named one of the 25 Influential Leaders in Sales by InsideView!

They compiled a list of 25 influential leaders in sales who are some of the key distributors of rich, knowledgeable content in the world of B2B sales. If you are in sales and have a Twitter account, you should be following Sam Richter @SamRichter. Better yet, create a Twitter List with him! Curious to know how? Check out this blog post InsideView wrote on Social Selling University: How Do You Create a Twitter List?

Wanna know what makes Sam's message unique? Look here!

http://thestandardovation.com/sam_richter_presentations.html

It's not a new book - but a new cover!

Motivational speaker, Marilyn Sherman, has a new book cover to her popular book that goes with her dynamic keynote of the same title. The content is still the same - but the cover has been given a new look with a dashing new photo of Marilyn! Why?! Because - Marilyn is living the words she teaches her audiences and continues to put herself in the front row! This time, it's by shedding a few lbs - and wow - does she look fabulous!

Check it out! For you own copy, visit Marilyn's book store: www.marilynsherman.com/book-store/

Kit Grant Newsletter | K.I.T., August 8/12 — You Get What You Deserve

“When your desires are strong enough you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.” 
… Napoleon Hill

Kit Grant's latest newsletter:
In an activity, it’s usually not superior ability not even knowledge that separates the successful from others. It is the willingness to do what others are unwilling to do — NOT what they are unable to do, just unwilling. So if you really want to accomplish anything and dedicate yourself to such a success target, there is very little than can prevent you from achieving it. Don’t give up — that’s the easy route chosen by too many.

WHERE’S KIT?
Golfing — it’s August.

For more information on Kit Grant - contact Standard Ovation | info@thestandardovation.com | 913.498.9772 or contact us through: http://www.thestandardovation.com/contact_kit_grant.html

The Problem of Being Nice - written by Gary Bradt

The Problem of Being Nice

[Posted on August 5, 2012 by Gary Bradt]

Too may people are too nice and that’s a problem when you are trying to help someone change and grow.

As I write this post, the 2012 Olympics are taking place.  For every medalist, there is a coach behind them: pushing, challenging, cajoling, and exhorting them to new levels of performance excellence.

I am sure these coaches aren’t always so “nice” in how they go about their business. That’s not their job. It’s to help their athlete’s win, to achieve their maximum level of performance. Coaches do that by reinforcing what’s going well, pointing out what needs to improve, and showing their athletes how to get better.
You can apply these same principles at work.

Employees always know at some level when they aren’t cutting it. And no one likes to fail. They need a strong leader to let them know where the gaps are in their performance and how to bridge them to give them a fighting chance at success. Have the tough conversation and help them out. Don’t be a jerk about it, but don’t avoid the conversation either because you want to be “nice.”

Unfortunately, I have run into countless leaders who have sidestepped tough conversations with under performers because they don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. Therefore the employee’s behavior does not change nor do results. Eventually the employee gets fired, quits, or is transferred to another department to become someone else’s problem.

Remember, a leader’s job is not to make everyone comfortable. It’s to help people and the organizations they serve be the best they can be.  Step up and be that leader.
Do that and I promise your outcomes will be nice.
 ______________

For more blog posts written by Dr. Gary Bradt, visit: garybradt.com/writing/